


Beat Me Down (And Help Me Up)

by De_Marvel_Bunny



Series: Whumptober 2019 [2]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Fluff and Angst, Hurt, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Protective May Parker (Spider-Man), Protective Peter Parker, Protective Steve Rogers, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark-centric, Violence, Whumping Tony Stark, Whumptober 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-02
Updated: 2019-10-02
Packaged: 2020-11-08 23:35:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20843882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/De_Marvel_Bunny/pseuds/De_Marvel_Bunny
Summary: Tony is openly gay. Not everyone is so supportive of that. He gets pushed around on the best of days, but when he's alone and defenseless, the real hits come out. He goes to the parkers for help, and Steve is a good boyfriend.





	Beat Me Down (And Help Me Up)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kcusllay](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kcusllay/gifts), [The_Sad_Fangirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Sad_Fangirl/gifts).

> Trigger warning: violence

Tony was aware that even though being gay wasn't a crime anymore, it wasn't fully accepted either.

At work, it was no more than some rough shoves when he walked by. No one really dared to do more than that. He was still their boss, after all. And, of course, he was Iron Man. But even though it didn't leave him with anything more than bruises that would fade with time, the whispers behind his back and looks filled with judgment cut deeper. He went to work in the morning with his chin raised and his heart sunken. He'd come home tired, hurting and desperately thinking of excuses as to why he was covered in bruises. He didn't want Steve to find out and get all protective over him. He could take care of himself and a few bruises weren't going to scare him off.

It was late when he finally left to go back home. The sun had disappeared and the moon had taken its place. The large building was quiet. Everyone had gone home already and Tony was the last one to leave. He stepped out into the chilly night air, pulling out his phone to call his poor driver to pick him up and pulling his navy suit jacket tighter around himself. As he walked down the street, his frozen hands struggling to operate his phone, he didn't notice the dark figures in one of the backway alleys New York was full of. (He would later blame his stupidity on his sleep deprivation, it'd been a while since he'd had a good night rest.)

As the clouds opened up and sprinkled the city with ice-cold rain, the men made their move.

They quickly approached the unsuspecting billionaire, delivering a hit hard enough to stun him and throw him off balance. Tony let out a grunt of surprise and pain as his world spun, his phone slipping from his hands as he rushed to meet the ground. Although dazed, Tony knew how to fall, twisting his body to soften the blow the best he could. He rolled on his back, blinking the spots out of his vision, his exhausted brain struggling to make sense of the situation. 

"Hey, boys," an unfamiliar voice called out. Tony smelled alcohol on his breath, his body suddenly freezing up as drunk rage came to mind, harsh beatings and harsher words. "Look wha' we 'ave 'ere!" Tony's vision finally cleared and he saw several faces looming over him threateningly. His hand subtly searched for his phone, but he couldn't find it in close proximity. He was tired, _so_ tired, and he knew what was about to come. This wasn't his first time. He laid his head down in defeat, closing his eyes against the rain and praying it would be over soon.

"Wa's that, Stark?" One of the men, their leader, probably, grinned a yellow-toothed grin that would've looked creepy if it didn't look manic instead. "Ya givin' up? But we haven't even started yet!" He laughed, the others joining in and Tony resisted the urge to sigh. Bad guys were always laughing, but he never found the joke.

"Har, har. You're hilarious, d'ya know that? Really, it's great. I'm not really in the mood for comedians tonight, though, so if you'd be so kind..." 

He tried to push himself up and walk away, but of course, that didn't happen. They pushed him back down, the front man's grin morphing into a snarl. 

"Now, holdup. You ain't goin' nowhere, Stark. Lil' fags like you don' belong in our streets."

Oh. Of course.

Tony didn't even have time to respond before blows were raining down on him from all sides. He curled in on himself, protecting his sensitive chest with his arm while trying to keep the blows from hitting his head, too. He didn't know how long they kept hitting him. He just knew that they were, and that was all that he was at that moment. They picked him up, tore his jacket, threw him into walls and watched with glee as he lost his balance, crashing back on the ground. Tony tried to get himself back up but his world was swimming, his balance was shot, and white and black spots obscured his vision. He groaned as the world tilted sideways and he landed painfully on his shoulder, dizzy and disoriented. He probably would've thrown up by now if there was even anything to throw up.

He must've blacked out for a moment because when he blinked his body was aching even more and he was lying against a wall, the perpetrators nowhere in sight. Or maybe they were, but Tony's vision was dancing the most complicated and dizzying dance he'd ever seen, and any attempt in getting up resulted in him meeting the wet pavement once again. 

His wounds throbbed with every beat of his heart and he took some steadying breaths, trying to ease some of the agonizing pain by at least slowing his heart rate down a little. He steadied himself on the wall behind him, leaning heavily against him while he swayed on the spot, barely able to recognize what was up and what was down. Slowly, he started his trek down the streets, silently cursing everyone he passed and the cars rushing down the road beside him for not at least offering to help. 

Before he could tell himself it was a bad idea, he was staggering up the steps of the new home he'd convinced the Parkers to take. He missed the bell at least three times before slamming down on it with his whole hand and almost falling back down the stairs when he lost his balance. He was considering just lying down and dying right there when the door opened, showing a very sleepy May Parker.

"What do you- oh, my God." Her eyes widened, all traces of sleep erased as she took in his appearance; his ruined jacket, his partially untucked blouse that was stained with dirt and blood, his blood-smeared face and swollen eye, broken nose, and soaked hair as he swayed unsteadily on his feet.

"H-hey," he muttered before his eyes rolled up into his head and he collapsed. May reached out and caught him, uncaring of the rain, dirt, and blood she was getting on her nightgown.

"Peter!" She yelled up the stairs. "Peter, get down here, now!"

She heard her nephew tripping over his own feet before running down the stairs with a bedhead and sleepy eyes.

"Wha- oh, shit!" He cursed, almost tripping down the last step in his haste to reach them, looking from his aunt to the unconscious man in her arms and back again. "What-what happened?!" He screeched, eyes blown wide in panic.

"I don't know. Help me get him to the couch," was May's short answer. Peter ended up taking Tony's entire weight, gently laying him down on the couch while obviously trying not to cry when he got the full sight of his mentor. May rushed to the kitchen to grab the first-aid kit while Peter carefully took off the man's ruined jacket and unbuttoned the first few buttons of his blouse. He was slightly hyperventilating, tears pooling in his eyes as he took in his mentor's appearance.

"May," his small voice interrupted the pressing silence as May got to cleaning the man's most prominent wounds. "What do you think happened to him?"

May sighed, looking at the man in question with a look Peter couldn't quite give a name to.

"I think I might have a pretty good idea. Peter, call Steve for me, will you?"

Peter nodded, quickly grabbing May's phone from where she'd left it on the coffee table and dialing the number.

"Hi- no, this is Peter. Sorry for waking you, could you please come over? Like, right now? No, we're fine. It's just... Mr. Stark is here and- yeah, he just got here. But sir, he's very hurt. Okay. Thank you, sir."

Peter hung up after that, just in time to see Tony begin to stir.

"Oh, no, no, no. Stay asleep, honey. It'll be easier for you," May tried, but Tony was already blinking his eyes open, looking around him in confusion with slightly clouded eyes.

"...ow?" He muttered when his eyes landed on May. May stroked his soaked hair from his forehead in sympathy.

"Just take it easy, okay? You've taken quite a hit."

Tony closed his eyes and leaned into her hand, the pain still clear on his face.

"Mr. Stark?"

He opened his eyes again with slight difficulty at the sound of the kid's voice. When he spotted him, he went for a smile, but he was sure it looked more like a grimace.

"'ey, Und'roos," he slurred slightly, only adding to Peter's worry.

"Mr. Stark, what happened?" Peter asked, tentatively laying a hand on the man's arm. Tony's heavy-lidded eyes followed the movement before slowly focusing back on his face. He gave a lopsided smile.

"Ah, 's nothin' I can't h'ndle," he tried to reassure him, but Peter was having none of it.

"You show up on our doorstep at 2 AM, completely soaked and beat up and passing out when the door opens and you're telling me it's 'nothing you can't handle'? Sorry, Mr. Stark, but that's bullshit."

The fact that May didn't even correct her nephew on his language showed her worry. Tony's face fell.

"'m sorry," he said, wincing as a wave of pain traveled through his body. "I was working late, 't was dark 'n some guys thought it'd be fun to beat up a fag," he spat self-deprecatingly. May grabbed his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, encouraging Tony to meet her gaze as she fixed him with a stern glare.

"It doesn't matter what they think of you, Tony. We love you, and that's all that matters, okay?"

The look in Tony's eyes was so vulnerable, May couldn't help giving in to her maternal instincts and press a kiss to his forehead.

Just then the front door of their house was kicked down and Captain America was rushing in, still in sweatpants and a t-shirt with his shield in hand. He quickly spotted Tony, dropped his shield and crouched by the couch. He gently pushed Tony's wet and curling hair from his forehead as his boyfriend gave him a loopy smile.

"'ey, hunny," he beamed. Steve looked at him, concern clear on his face.

"Tony, I'm-I'm so sorry this happened to you," he whispered brokenly as he looked down at his boyfriend's rumpled form. 

"'s okay," he told him, leaning into his big, warm hand and closing his eyes.

"No, it's not okay, Tony. This... this is _not_ okay. People can't actually _do_ this, right? I mean, that's insane! That's cruel! This shouldn't-"

Steve's rant was interrupted by May putting a hand over his balled fist, nodding towards Tony. When Steve looked at him, he noticed the brunet was asleep, safe in the hand Steve still had on his head. Steve couldn't help but smile sadly at the sight his boyfriend made. Sadly, this wasn't a new sight. He'd seen him hurt before way too many times. Steve wished he didn't have to. Wished Tony didn't have to hurt and Steve didn't have to watch powerlessly. Wished he could take Tony's hand and ride into the sunset, happy and safe. But that just wasn't in the cards for them.

"You should take him home. You probably have better medical equipment there, anyway," May advised, her touch soft and gentle on his hand. Steve nodded, thanking her and Peter softly before scooping up his boyfriend and holding him safely in his arms. He carried him over to the car, gently putting him down in the passenger's seat before sliding in on the other side.

With an apology for the door and a promise to have someone fix it, he drove off, one hand on Tony's the whole time. Only when Tony was checked over by medical, changed into clean clothes and safely tucked into Steve's side did the captain relax. It was almost morning by then, but he simply turned off his alarm, hugged his boyfriend close and allowed himself to drift off.

**Author's Note:**

> It actually makes me so sad to think that things like these happen nowadays...
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the second work in this series, I'm already behind schedule so this is going great.
> 
> Take care <3


End file.
